Myself and a significant percentage of devotees in ISKCON preach that it is O.K if a woman sees her husband as a guru and worthy of worship ; but it is not required. In contrast, the husband may see the wife as the guru and spiritual leader, there are precedents in the scripture that verify this as bonafide.

In the modern day many pastimes between devotees and the Lord in His Arca Avatar, or Deity forms are happening. There are many stories....Dreams have long been a feature of exchanges between the Lord and His devotees.

Complacency is a dangerous element in the progress of Spiritual Life. It is very essential for an endeavoring spiritualist to always remember that the material world is not a place of comfort. It has been certified by the Creator, Lord Sri Krsna himself as dukhalayam and asasvatam, which means it, is full of misery and temporary

Pumpkin pie. How typically November. But these pumpkin pies have been upgraded with the addition of a laminated pie crust.

For a laminated dough, I roll room temp softened butter out between two sheets of parchment paper, then stick in the fridge to firm up. You can also use saran wrap. Whatever.

I only rolled the dough out twice with the butter, but there were many folds and the quick lamination technique really paid off. First rolled out one stick of butter and refrigerated. Then I combined about 8 cups of flour, a little salt and way more water than a regular pie crust. Look at those layers just waiting to bake and flake!

Two pies made. One eaten within 48 hours, the other photographed and headed to the freezer to celebrate the arrival of new baby.

See that flakiness! My son, the lover of all things sweet, much preferred the crust to the filling. Too bad that's not really an option in this house. Oh, and how to you like my Pilgrim?

The crust with crackle.

Here's the pie, all wrapped and double wrapped and triple, even quadruple wrapped. It will only be in the freezer 5-ish weeks (by my educated body guess) but still, want to avoid the....(who know's their 1989 trivia?).

I trudged along keeping warm with comfy hemp sannyasi clothes through the dark morning when I started another walk. "Jeeze" she said as she didn't expect in her quiet protected Rosedale neighbourhood to see a person so well covered in cloth and only revealing the head. My face-alone image took her by surprise.

"Sorry!"

I returned to the ashram and on my desk I opened to a page from the publication "Ministry" a journal for pastors. The article by Rael O. Caesor was interesting, exploring what ever happened to the face of the devil? "Where in the world is Satan the devil" was his question. The personification of the master deceiver seemed to be vanishing from Christian theology. The devil first became know as he is in the late stage of Israelite religion according to theologian Brent Ehrman. Another author pointed that the roles of Satan and God are a scriptural unity and "Satan is part of a divine cabinet in which all the members are not good."

The author's thrust was that there is less mention of the sleezy character in dialogue and sermons today. People think less of a personality as opposed to an evil force. Who can deny that Satan or Maya as we say in a Vedic context exists in some form in every person and every society? Some folks will have fun debating whether there is a face to that evil or not.

I am simply content to know that God is personal and He has a face.
Here's a poetic quote from the saint Bilvamangala.

"Sweet, sweet is my dear Lord's form,
Sweeter still His face, so fair,
But His honey-scented gentle smile
Is sweet beyond compare."

I want that some ideal families of Krishna Consciousness should be established in your country, so that people can see that our movement is not one sided or dry. So we do not want dry renouncers. Krishna Himself married so many wives as a Ksatriya. Caitanya Mahaprabhu although He was to take Sannyas at the age of 24 years, still He married twice within 20 years. Lord Nityananda Prabhu also married. Advaita Prabhu and Srivas Prabhu, they were also householders. So to become married is no impediment for advancement in Krishna Consciousness. One should be vigilant only that he is not diverting from Krishna Consciousness. One has to follow the footprints of the great Acaryas then everything is all right. I was also a married man -- my family is still existing. So you should always remember that marriage is not impediment. The greatest enemy is forgetfulness of Krishna. There are many Impersonalists and voidists -- they renounced this material world very early in their life; just like Sankara Acarya. He took sannyasa at the age of 8 years. Lord Buddha left home just in the beginning of his youth. But we are not concerned with them. So I hope by this time, by serving this Krishna Consciousness movement for the last two years you must have gotten some taste of the nectarine. Now you must be fixed up and execute your specified duty as ordered by me, and then I am sure there will be no difficulty. But you should always remember that wife is not a machine for sense gratification. Wife is your half body for nourishing your Krishna Consciousness status. So your are getting a wife who is already trained up in Krishna Consciousness and if you live carefully and faithfully there will be no difficulty. That is the verdict of all Acaryas.

The chanting of Hare Krishna is not just done by the neophyte in the process of “just hear.” It is done by Srimati Radharani Herself in Her lila with Krishna. She is eternally fixed in hearing Krishna’s name. So the holy name is part of Krishna-lila.

Inspired by the book distributors all over the world, I have taken up the project of placing Srila Prabhupada's books in all the libraries at the schools and colleges in the Fiji Islands -- more than five hundred libraries.

Every week at our temple I appeal to the guests to sponsor books for the libraries, and I also appeal for donations through phone, email, and personally delivered handouts.

On November 4th I delivered the following books to DAV College in Suva, and on November 11th I sent these same books to Vunimono High School in Nausori.

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Krsna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead Teachings of Queen Kunti The Science of Self Realization Life Comes from Life Your Ever Well-Wisher A Second Chance Beyond Illusion and Doubt The Laws of Nature The Beginners' Guide to Krishna Consciousness Perfect Questions, Perfect Answers Krsna consciousness, the Matchless Gift The Perfection of Yoga Beyond Birth and Death On the Way to Krishna Raja-Vidya: The King of Knowledge Elevation to Krishna Consciousness Sri Isopanisad The Higher Taste Coming Back Divine Nature Chant and be Happy Krishna Consciousness: The Topmost Yoga System Yoga for the New Millennium The Nectar of Instruction Easy Journey to Other Planets Bhakti, the Art of Eternal Love Teachings of Prahlada Maharaja

Appreciating our service we received this letter from DAV College which happens to be an Arya Samaj School (believers of the impersonal form of Krishna).

Dear Nityananda Das

"On behalf of the DAN College I would like to thank you for providing library books to our needy students. Your kind gesture in providing the books for our students is highly appreciated and we hope you will continue your good deeds with benevolent compassion."

With regards and best wishes, Mrs Gyan Prasad

I have already received from devotees confirmation of sponsorship for nine more schools, to which I will deliver the books upon receipt of payment.

I will keep you informed of the progress on this project. I have also started to work extra hours at my workplace so I can afford to sponsor at least one school per month from my side as well.

Srila Prabhupada's book distribution Ki Jay!!!

Yours in the service of Guru and Gauranga, Nityananda Das (Text D:3911240) -------------------------------------------

Inspired by the book distributors all over the world, I have taken up the project of placing Srila Prabhupada's books in all the libraries at the schools and colleges in the Fiji Islands -- more than five hundred libraries.

Every week at our temple I appeal to the guests to sponsor books for the libraries, and I also appeal for donations through phone, email, and personally delivered handouts.

On November 4th I delivered the following books to DAV College in Suva, and on November 11th I sent these same books to Vunimono High School in Nausori.

Bhagavad-gita As It Is Krsna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead Teachings of Queen Kunti The Science of Self Realization Life Comes from Life Your Ever Well-Wisher A Second Chance Beyond Illusion and Doubt The Laws of Nature The Beginners' Guide to Krishna Consciousness Perfect Questions, Perfect Answers Krsna consciousness, the Matchless Gift The Perfection of Yoga Beyond Birth and Death On the Way to Krishna Raja-Vidya: The King of Knowledge Elevation to Krishna Consciousness Sri Isopanisad The Higher Taste Coming Back Divine Nature Chant and be Happy Krishna Consciousness: The Topmost Yoga System Yoga for the New Millennium The Nectar of Instruction Easy Journey to Other Planets Bhakti, the Art of Eternal Love Teachings of Prahlada Maharaja

Appreciating our service we received this letter from DAV College which happens to be an Arya Samaj School (believers of the impersonal form of Krishna).

Dear Nityananda Das

"On behalf of the DAN College I would like to thank you for providing library books to our needy students. Your kind gesture in providing the books for our students is highly appreciated and we hope you will continue your good deeds with benevolent compassion."

With regards and best wishes, Mrs Gyan Prasad

I have already received from devotees confirmation of sponsorship for nine more schools, to which I will deliver the books upon receipt of payment.

I will keep you informed of the progress on this project. I have also started to work extra hours at my workplace so I can afford to sponsor at least one school per month from my side as well.

Srila Prabhupada's book distribution Ki Jay!!!

Yours in the service of Guru and Gauranga, Nityananda Das (Text D:3911240) -------------------------------------------

We have now enterted the period of Bhisma Pancaka which also means the countdown to the end of the month of Lord Damodara. This time is very auspicious for extra fasting and penance, especially for those that are unable to keep the fasting of caturmasya.

The best and easiest to understand explanation comes of course from Srila Prabhupada who compared this month to a sale at a store. You are in essence getting a much better value since it is multiplied by 1000. And this period represent the final chance to get in on this sale, perhaps something akin to Boxing Day or Black Friday.

In this period we also pay our respects to the great leader, warrior and celibate, Bhismadeva and honour his values of duty, truthfulness and cleanliness that Bhismadeva maintained to his last breath. Lord Krishna and the Pandavas paid this honour and respect to Bhismadeva and perhaps in these final days we can add some extra penance as well as obeisances in honour of Bhisma Pancaka. “arabhyaikadasim panca dinani vratamicaret;
bhagavatpritaye bhismapancakam yadi saknuyat.
yadi saknuyatditi kamyatvamiti dik” - Srila Sanatana Goswami “If one is capable the Bhisma-panchaka vow will be observed for the sake of love of God for the five days from the eleventh day (of the bright lunar fortnight in Kartika) up till the fullmoon day. The prescriptions for this have been given in the Vrata-Khanda-Kartika Mahatmya of the Padma-purana, in the Skanda Purana and in the Visnu-rahasya.”

1967 November 18: "Be sympathetic with all persons even if they differ. May our staunch faith not allow any disruption. The only qualification we have to scrutinize is if one is acting in Krishna Consciousness as much as one is able to do it."Prabhupada Letters :: 1967

1968 November 18: "Regarding Srimad-Bhagavatam, please send me the chapters, I want to see how it is being done. I am glad you are not omitting anything, but just making grammatical correction, that is very nice."Prabhupada Letters :: 1968

1970 November 18: "Our position has nothing to do with the Gaudiya Math. They cannot do anything and if somebody does something, they become envious. So many persons were envious of my Guru Maharaja, but He was preaching and did not care for them."Prabhupada Letters :: 1970

1972 November 18: "So far advising you, what can I say? You have got experience and you are there, what can I do from such distant place? We are not so much after big, big buildings, we are interested to preach only."Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

1972 November 18: "How is that? It will be a very bad example. It is not possible at all. Then you have to give up your sannyasi dress. So give up these thoughts. You cannot live together, that is not possible, neither you can see her or speak."Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

1972 November 18: "If you want to keep her, she can remain separately and you can support her but you cannot see her. You may see her some times by chance, but you may not see separately or privately and you cannot talk with her, neither correspond."Prabhupada Letters :: 1972

1975 November 18: "If you want to have Krsna, one must be above illicit sex life. That requires some strength. By chanting Hare Krsna, one will become strong. Unfortunately, we have no taste for this chanting. This is our misfortune."Prabhupada Letters :: 1975

1975 November 18: "We do not criticize the communist idea, but we want to make it perfect. Let the leading men of any communist country come and talk with us and we are sure to make him convinced about this loftiest philosophy of Krsna consciousness."Prabhupada Letters :: 1975

3:39 P.M.

From Namamrta by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada:

“Chanting of the holy name in Krishna-lila:

“One day Srimati Radharani was churning curd for Krishna. At that time the jeweled bangles on Her hands were circling around, and She was also chanting the holy name of Krishna. All of a sudden She thought, ‘I am chanting the holy name of Krishna, and My superiors—My mother-in-law and My sister-in-law—may hear Me!’ By this thought Radharani became overanxious. This is an instance of feeling guilty because of devotion to Krishna. (The Nectar of Devotion)

“In the Krishna-karnamrta there is another statement about the chanting of Radharani. It is said by one of the associates of Radharani: ‘O Lord Govinda, the girl who is the daughter of King Vrsabhanu is now shedding tears, and She is anxiously chanting Your holy name— Krishna! Krishna!’” (The Nectar of Devotion)

In the Krishna book we are told how the gopis were searching for Krishna when He disappeared from them in the rasa dance. They wandered through the forest and could not find Him anywhere. Finally they assembled together at the bank of the Yamuna and, expecting Krishna must return to them, they simply engaged in the chanting of the glories of Sri Krishna—Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.

The chanting of Hare Krishna is not just done by the neophyte in the process of “just hear.” It is done by Srimati Radharani Herself in Her lila with Krishna. She is eternally fixed in hearing Krishna’s name. So the holy name is part of Krishna-lila.

I had a difficult morning. I was up chanting by 1:00 A.M., but after a while I got a headache in my right eye. I tried taking non-migraine medicine but it didn’t work, and my right-eye twinge only increased. I took migraine medicine, and only very gradually did the pain decrease. Often I report that despite a headache I’m able to go on chanting. But this morning the impairment blocked my ability to chant well. In fact, the chanting was causing a strenuousness that increased my pain, so I stopped chanting entirely. I chanted twelve rounds and then rested in my chair. Sometimes a headache simply prevents you from chanting.

Srimati Radharani chants
the names of Her Beloved.
Sometimes She is afraid
Her relatives will catch
Her doing so, but She goes
on chanting and hearing, and so
do the other gopis— Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare
Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.
So the holy name is
an integral part of Krishna- lila, living in the hearts
and on the tongues of the brijbasis. Chanting is
not just for vaidhi-
sadhakas but for the
most intimate associates of
the Lord.

“All those young men clustered around him
on the walks. It’s simple—
they all love him.
He makes them feel good.
Some of them are tough guys,
almost all were drug-takers
who want to be clean
and transcendental and . . . like Prabhupada
at least in some small way.

You could say they want power
in his movement
but that came later.
First came attraction for him
and that cannot be denied.
That will save us.

Now go back to that simple attraction,
examine it and build on it.
Forget the mistakes—at least
don’t repeat them.
Be humble and like you were
when you first saw him:
you knew you were in sin,
and you knew he saw it and forgave you.
He carried Krishna.

He teaches the mantra,
he gives out good food,
his books are a little hard to swallow at first,
but when you get past your prejudices
(that’s what he called them, “Western prejudices”)
you find it clear and you are
as good as someone born in India.
He says you are even better than a Hindu.
You are Krishna conscious,
you can be reclaimed.
Give up illicit sex and marijuana
give up being a tough guy.
It’s not easy, but it is easy.

Just go see him and hear and
go back to simple truths:
he’s your guru,
you wanted a guru,
so God sent him.
Now you have nothing else to do
but serve him with your whole life.

Krishna will lift me
Krishna will lift me
He will take me where
He wants me to go.

I don’t know where that
is but I pray to be
willing to go. He is all-
wise and
compassionate and knows
what is best for me.
Krishna will take me.
I have a few years left.
Then He will take me
to the place I deserve,
the place He wills.

Do I have a say in it?
Can I pray to go to Goloka?
Just be accepting.
Krishna, I want to love You.
Please help me to be
Your devotee. I am
wearing out, but
still I work poems
and prayers to You
and my irrepressible spirit
does free writes and
tries to dovetail them
into eulogies and homages.

I want to be a devotee of
Prabhupada, one of
his preachers and
disciples. But I
don’t seem to be
moving in the desire
to go out and save souls.
I do it by cyberspace
which is also a way.

I want to be accepted
and caressed. I want
to bow down at his
feet. I can’t drive
any more in the body,
and I’m hampered in traveling.
In other words, I’m
approaching kind
of retired stage.

But the use of words is
still open to me and reading
my poems and books and
video. I can receive a
few guests and talk with
them for an hour or so.
But no 24-hour kirtanas,
no 64 rounds a day.
I’m retired. I’m crippled.

Oh, it is not that bad,
it is not that late,
it will get worse.
You still have verve
and life. So don’t
lament. Be happy
and laugh with your
friends and make
plans to preach to
devotees and neutral people.

My vitals are still intact,
I don’t have cancer.
I haven’t suffered a stroke.
Yes, I know when Prabhupada
was my age he was a
jet-age parivrajakacarya, he was lecturing daily
and managing men and money.
But I can’t do as he did.

I get frequent headaches.
I don’t think I should berate
myself. Do your best
according to your capacity.
Do you know your capacity?

“A yogi should similarly meditate on the most benevolent smile of Lord Sri Hari, a smile which, for all those who bow to Him, dries away the ocean of tears caused by intense grief. The yogi should also meditate on the Lord’s arched eyebrows, which are manifested by His internal potency in order to charm the sex-god for the good of the sages.”

The universe is full of miseries, and the inhabitants are always shedding tears of grief. But for one who surrenders unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the ocean of tears is at once dried up. The bereavement of material existence immediately subsides when one sees the charming smile of the Lord.

The charming eyebrows of the Lord are so fascinating that they cause one to forget the charms of sense gratification. To be aloof from sex attraction, one must see the smile and the eyebrows of the Personality of Godhead. These statements are not mere poetic metaphors. God is not impersonal. If the yogi or devotee is able to place the beautiful face of the Lord in the core of his heart, he will be completely satisfied. Seeing the beauty of the Lord within himself, the material attraction will no longer disturb him.

The neighboring gopis came to Mother Yasoda to “lodge complaints” against the naughty behavior of Krishna. They told how He and Balarama came to their houses and stole yogurt and butter from the pots. Sometimes when They found no butter, They would pinch the young babies and make them cry or pour water in their ears. Sometimes They would pass urine and stool on the floor. “And just look,” the ladies said, “now that we have come to report on Their mischievious activities, They are sitting quietly like good boys.” When Mother Yasoda looked at the pitiable expression on Krishna’s face, she did not punish Him. Another time all the boys, including Balarama, reported that they had seen Krishna eating dirt. Krishna denied it to His mother and told her to look into His mouth. When she did so, she saw the moon and stars and sun and planets and her own self feeding Krishna. She became bewildered and thought that either she had gone mad or that the illusory potency of her mystical child was working. The vision disappeared, and she saw Krishna just as an ordinary child.

So Krishna showed His mother the Universal Form in His mouth. These are the descriptions in the Krishnabook. It is an “impossible” thing. But He can make the impossible possible. At the beginning of creation He emanates all the planetary systems on a stem that comes from His navel. The stem blossoms, and on the top sits Lord Brahma, the first created being, sitting on the whorl of the lotus. The stem is balanced on very shaky water, and Brahma is perturbed. He doesn’t know where he is or what he is supposed to do. He hears a voice from the sky that utters two syllables, “ta pa,” and he performs austerities. He sits and goes into deep meditation. Brahma hrda ya adi-kavaye—that means the first learned person was taught through the heart. Krishna taught Brahma through the heart how to create the fourteen planetary systems. Brahma is the engineer or the secondary creator. He creates the worlds under the instructions of the Supreme Lord. The Supreme Lord is Krishna, the Cause of all causes (sarva-karana-karanam). Brahma undergoes many difficulties as he creates. He created some sons who became lusty after him and attacked him for homosexual intercourse. He ran away from them. A beautiful woman was created at twilight, and Brahma was tempted by her, but on Krishna’s advice he threw off his body and took a new one. He prays to Krishna for creative energy and for protection against the demoniac, dangerous persons he has to create. Krishna gives him his wishes, and Prabhupada comments that anyone who undertakes executive work for the Lord will receive His protection. The Lord shakes Brahma’s hand in friendship. Brahma asks Krishna four questions which contain the nutshell inquiries of the entire Bhagavatam, and Krishna answers them succinctly. Brahma is the first acarya in the Brahma-sampradaya coming directly from Krishna. Among his direct followers is the sage Sukadeva Goswami, who is an outstanding acarya in Brahma’s line. Srila Vyasadeva is the literary incarnation of Krishna who writes the teachings down in Sanskrit scriptures. The four Kumaras start a sampradaya of their own when they refuse to get married.

All of this information is given in Srimad-Bhagavatam. People are always trying to kill each other in the TV crime shows. Sometimes a good guy is shot, like Sullivan and Dom in NCIS: Los Angeles, but mostly the good guys kill the bad guys. Brahma lives a fabulously long lifetime, the duration of the universe. Most of us live a very small lifetime, 70 years, or maybe 80.

We’ve just finished another yoga retreat in Pandavas Paradise (more on that in a later post!). I judge the success of a retreat on the interest the participants show in delving deeper into Krishna consciousness and taking the practice home. I always make it clear to our guests that practice (sadhana) means, above all, japa and study of KC books. So, when the guest buys his own japa beads and books at the end of the retreat, this indicates to me the message got through, by the grace of guru and Gauranga. Gladly, this happens in the great majority of the cases!

Interestingly (and rather obviously to me), the best sellers are audiobooks! BBT Brazil has currently three books in audio: 1) the entire 1st Canto of the Srimad Bhagavatam (translations and purports), 2) the entire Sri Isopanishad (Sanskrit, translation and puports) and 3) the entire Krishna Book. They were all recorded by me in Pandavas Paradise. Currently, I’m working on “The Pastimes of Sri Nrsimhadeva”, a reading of Chapters 2-10 of the 7th Canto of the Srimad Bhagavatam (translation and purports).

There are several advantages to audiobooks.

First, they are cheap to reproduce! Once the work has been done, you can give them away for free as downloads (which we do in Brazil) or you can sell them in CD-roms. In Brazil we chose the DVD box format, with two CD-roms per case. The first one is the SB 1st Canto and Sri Isopanishad and the second just the Krishna Book. Two CDs packed with MP3 files, in a nice DVD box, pretty cover and nice artwork on the CD itself. Even producing them on a small scale (we do on demand printing as it is), they come out to about US$3 each! So we resell them for about US$10. The customer gets a 1000 pages worth of amazing literature, for US$10! And we still get a big profit. Generally, audiobooks are much more expensive than printed books, but of course there is no actual reason for this, given that printed books are the ones that require so much paper, ink, trucks to move them around in, shelves to put them on, etc.

Secondly, audiobooks are becoming increasingly popular because they are so convenient! Every car these days has MP3 enabled CD players, and just about everyone has their MP3 player, iPhone, etc. So, while we’re walking around, driving to work, catching a bus, exercising, etc. we can be listening to a book. In these days where no one seems to have any free time, busily running from one place to another, from one task to the next, the audiobook fits neatly into this multitasking lifestyle. (Even temple pujaris tell me they love the books, because it allows them to listen to Krishna’s pastimes and instructions while they are busy making garlands, cooking for the Deities, etc.!)

Thirdly, and this may sound strange unless you’ve experienced it yourself, there is an extra potency in hearing these texts. This is the original “format” of the scriptures. Sure, reading is like hearing – but it’s not entirely. Hearing is slightly different – it seems to penetrate further, deeper into our consciousness.

Because of these advantages I’m much more convinced someone will actually listen to an entire 1000 pages of Srimad Bhagavatam then I am that they will read it if they were to buy the printed book.

BBT should push more for audiobooks and should recognize them by including them in the sankirtan newsletter. It’s a bit dissapointing to sell several Srimad Bhagavatams and Krishna Books in a weekend and not be able to share this glory by sending in results to the sankirtan newsletter! The time has come for us to realize that sankirtan will come in the format of e-books and audiobooks more and more. This should be encouraged and officially recognized.

"Vision without action is a daydream. Action with without vision is a nightmare."
- Japanese Proverb

"Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality."
- Warren Bennis

"If you limit your choices only to what seems possible or reasonable, you disconnect yourself from what you truly want, and all that is left is a compromise."
- Robert Fritz

"A leader's role is to raise people's aspirations for what they can become and to release their energies so they will try to get there."
- David Gergen

"The master of the art of living makes little distinction between his work and his play, his labor and his leisure, his mind and his body, his education and his recreation, his love and his religion. He hardly knows which is which; he simply pursues his vision of excellence in whatever he does, leaving others to decide whether he is working or playing. To him he is always doing both."
- Buddha

"Rowing harder doesn't help if the boat is headed in the wrong direction."
- Kenichi Ohmae

"The future belongs to those who see possibilities before they become obvious."
- John Scully

"The real voyage of discovery consists of not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes."
- Marcel Proust